Day 8: Jasper, AB

We took the time to plan a little bit more of the next couple of days, and decided that we could afford another day in Jasper. Between the cabin and the park and the town, we couldn't leave just yet. We were lucky enough to obtain another night at the Pine Bungalows, and we spent the day meandering around the Jasper townsite and surrounding area.

The drive up to Maligne Lake and the lake itself both come highly recommended, so we began the day with that. After a quick stop at the Maligne Lookout, we wandered around the Maligne Lake grounds and decided to rent a canoe from the Maligne Lake Boathouse. The rental part was super quick and easy, and just like that we were paddling along the shoreline. There are more than a few people at Maligne Lake, so it was definitely easier to appreciate the beauty of the lake from a canoe, with less of a crowd. 

We followed this up with a little more driving, a walk around downtown, and another night at the Pine Bungalows, dinner made in their perfectly portioned kitchen. We also took the time to re-evaluate and re-pack the car, which should help things run more smoothly once we're on the ferry to Alaska, coming up in just a few days!

Day 7: Canmore, AB to Jasper, AB

Today brought us into the National Parks, beginning with Banff National Park and making our way down the Icefields Parkway into Jasper National Park. Along the way, we stopped at Bow Lake, the Columbia Icefield, and Athabasca Falls.

Bow Lake is undeniably beautiful, especially on a sunny day when the turquoise waters are glinting up at you. Then you look left and notice the giant Bow Glacier at one end (see the photo on the right), feeding the lake. But, just up the road is Peyto Lake. It's not visible from the road and it's a little bit of an ascent on foot, but it's 100% worth it. We decided to skip Peyto this trip, for the sake of time, but if you’re anywhere near Peyto Lake, definitely stop. (Here's a picture from our trip to Peyto Lake last year.)

Next, the Columbia Icefield, where you can get pretty damn close to the toe of the Athabasca Glacier. Note: Across the way you’ll see a big information center/cafeteria thing (pass), from which you can also take a bus onto the glacier (hard pass). Instead, we walked up a short, gravel ascent to where you can walk around the toe and watch the glacial runoff begin it’s trip downhill.

As you walk up, there are markers showing where the toe of the glacier reached in previous years, which is incredibly interesting (in a very tragic way)—not to mention the fact that the whole spot will likely be a lake by 2100, with no glacier in sight. 

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The toe of the Athabasca Glacier

After that, onto the Athabasca Falls (which are fed by the glacier above), which are quite active this time of year. There were more people there than is ideal, but you can’t deny how spectacular they are, even when ten other people are at the same viewing point with you. See below:

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Though we'd originally planned to try to get further today, there's just something about Jasper. On the off-chance they had something available, we pulled into the Pine Bungalows, located just outside of town on the Athabasca River. Turns out, we took the very last room they had—we even watched the "Sorry, no vacancy" sign turn on when we got back in the car to drive to our cabin. 

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The cabins are absolutely perfect, super clean with everything you need, including a functional kitchen with a stove. There's no wifi in the cabins, but it's kind of nice to be a little disconnected. They've done an excellent job renovating the place, and they keep the area very quiet and dark at night. Less light pollution + the sound of the Athabasca River outside our cabin = two thumbs up. We went to the grocery store for some supplies (which was surprisingly well stocked, for a grocery store on the small end) and walked around in downtown Jasper. It’s an old railroad town, very quaint and relaxed. It's a bit more understated and homey than the Banff townsite, and even though it has the expected surplus of t-shirt and tchotchke shops, there’s also plenty more to see. 

Day 3: New Rockford, ND to Moose Jaw, SK

The day began with even more expansive North Dakota prairies, followed by a drive through Minot (home of the North Dakota State Fair), then onto even more wide open spaces, separated by yellow fields of canola and tiny towns that seem to be a few blocks long. We crossed the Canadian border in Portal, ND (which was quite quick and painless) and entered Sasketchewan. Did you know Saskatchewan looks a lot like North Dakota? 

Filling up in Milestone, Sasketchewan

After a bit of research in the car, we decided to spend the night in Moose Jaw—also known as Little Chicago, so dubbed for its connection to Al Capone. Overall, we’re big fans of Moose Jaw—we took a walk through Crescent Park, visited some of Moose Jaw’s many murals (shown below), grabbed a bite at Browns Socialhouse, and headed back to Grant Hall Hotel, a hotel originally built in 1927, during Moose Jaw’s Railway Era. 

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You’ll see in the video at the top of the post that we hit a bit of gravel eventually. The Traction+ Mode worked wonders on a loose gravel road that hadn’t seen maintenance in quite some time. 

Day 2: Warrens, WI to New Rockford, ND

We covered some pretty good ground today, despite a pretty long construction slowdown in Minnesota and a bit of a stop when a car ignited on the side of the road in Minneapolis (no, really, a car became a fiery inferno within a few minutes).

The 500x has been quite the trooper, especially once we got onto the great expanses of traffic-free North Dakota and could really open her up.  Here's what you'll see in the video below: the tail-end of Wisconsin, Minneapolis, a little bit of Minnesota's Otter Tail County, followed by Fargo and more glorious, wide-open North Dakota. 

We stopped for a pizza at Jonny B's Brickhouse in Jamestown, then ended the night one hour north in New Rockford at the Bison Lodge, an old school motel (in the best possible way—very clean, great service) with a hunting lodge. 

Day 1: Chicago, IL to Warrens, WI

After a bit of a late start today, we made our first stop of the trip in Warrens, Wisconsin—where we found an excellent Airbnb surrounded by 40 acres of horse pasture. Check out the video below to see our drive (shot on a YI 4K Action Camera and GoPro HERO5—we're testing out both). Stay tuned!

we're going to alaska

The 500xpedition to Alaska is ready to begin! After one last stop to see Miss Della, the 500x is all packed up and on the road—ready to see how far can get today.